11 May 1915

Island affected by Lusitania sinking

There has been local outrage following news that a German submarine sunk the RMS Lusitania off the southern coast of Ireland.

There has been local outrage following news that a German submarine sunk the RMS Lusitania off the southern coast of Ireland. The Cunard liner was on course from New York to Liverpool when the tragedy occurred. Of the 1,959 people on board, nearly twelve hundred perished, many of them women and children.

Over this past weekend, all local church services included special prayers for the victims. There are reports that a number of Islanders were on board the doomed vessel. Among these were the wife, daughter, brother-in-law and sister-in-law of Mr Partlett. They were visiting relatives in America and it is understood that all have lost their lives in the disaster.

Anti-German feeling has been running very high in certain English cities since the sinking, notably in Liverpool from where many of the ship’s crew came. There have been no reports of violence directed towards Jersey’s small number of German nationals, although the authorities are monitoring the situation. If necessary, the Lieutenant Governor is prepared to remove any of those enemy aliens who remain in the Island – if only for reasons of their own safety.

Jersey Archive document A/E/1 - contains reports about activities of Germans in Jersey dating from the time of the Lusitania sinking, including anonymous tip-offs of possible suspicious activities.